Bechu Kurian Thomas
Bechu Kurian Thomas | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Judge of the High Court of Kerala | |
| Assumed office 6 March 2020 | |
| Nominated by | Sharad Arvind Bobde |
| Appointed by | Ram Nath Kovind |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 5 December 1968 Kottayam, Kerala, India |
| Spouse | Meenu[1] |
| Children | Adv. Suzanne Kurian Tarun Thomas Kurian[1] |
| Parents |
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| Alma mater | Government Law College, Ernakulam |
| Signature |  |
Bechu Kurian Thomas (Malayalam: ബെച്ചു കുര്യൻ തോമസ്) is an Indian judge who is presently serving as a judge of the High Court of Kerala.[3][4][5][6][7][8][9]
Early life and education
Bechu Kurian was born at Kottayam as the second son of Justice K. T. Thomas[2] and Susan Tharuni Thomas. He has completed his schooling from Corpus Christi School, Kottayam, St. Joseph's Boys' Higher Secondary School, Kozhikode and St. Aloysius Higher Secondary School, Quilon, pre degree from Government Arts College, Thiruvananthapuram and obtained law degree from Government Law College, Ernakulam securing 1st rank in the University in 1992 and was awarded with Annamma Kunjacko Memorial Gold Medal.[10][1]
Career
Bechu Kurian enrolled in 1992 and started practicing as a lawyer at Kottayam.[10] He shifted to Ernakulam in 1995 and started practicing in various courts including the Supreme Court of India, the High Court of Kerala, National Company Law Appellate Tribunal, National Green Tribunal etc. He specialised in the fields of Constitutional law, Administrative law, Taxation laws, Corporate law, Arbitration, Environmental laws, Civil Law, Criminal law, and Maritime law.
In 1997, he received British Council Chevening Scholarship and underwent study and training in English Commercial Law and Practice at the College of Law, York and at Hammonds Suddards, London.[10] He started his office Bechu Kurian & Co at Ernakulam in 1998. He served as law reporter of Kerala Law Journal from 1997 to 2002. He served as standing counsel for the University of Kerala from 2014 to 2015. In 2015, he was designated as Senior Advocate by Kerala High Court. On 6 March 2020, he was appointed as an additional judge of Kerala High Court and became permanent judge with effect from 28 May 2021.[4][10][7][2]
Notable rulings
Child sexual abuse laws in India
In August 2022, bench of Justice Bechu Kurian, while hearing a bail plea in a sexual offence under Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses Act, 2012, expressing the concern and quoting Erin's Law, the first law passed in the United States requiring sexual abuse prevention education to be taught to students in school every year, issued guidelines and directions to the Government of Kerala and Central Board of Secondary Education to introduce a Prevention-Oriented Program on Sexual Abuse in the curriculum from the next academic year.[11][12]
References
- ^ a b c "ബെച്ചു കുര്യനും ഗോപിനാഥ് മേനോനും ഹൈക്കോടതി ജഡ്ജിമാരായത് ഒന്നാം റാങ്ക് തിളക്കത്തില്". expresskerala.com. Retrieved 31 January 2020.
- ^ a b c "െഹെക്കോടതി ജഡ്ജിമാർ സത്യപ്രതിജ്ഞ ചെയ്തു". manoramaonline.com. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
- ^ "Official".
- ^ a b "Appointment Notification" (PDF). Official - Department of Justice - Government of India. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
- ^ "Appointment Order of 4 Additional Judges for a period of 2 years". scconline.com. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
- ^ "Collegium approves — elevation of 3 Advocates and 1 Judicial Officer as Judge of Kerala HC". scconline.com. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
- ^ a b "SC collegium recommends to appoint four new HC judges". mathrubhumi.com. Archived from the original on 7 March 2020. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
- ^ "Kerala high court gets four new judges". indiatimes.com. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
- ^ "Centre Notifies The Appointment Of Three Lawyers And One Jud. Officer As Additional Judges Of Kerala HC". livelaw.in. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
- ^ a b c d "Official".
- ^ "Kerala High Court calls for Pocso Act awareness among kids". telegraphindia.com. Retrieved 11 September 2022.
- ^ "'Educate children about sexual abuse', HC calls for updating school curriculum". onmanorama.com. Retrieved 11 September 2022.